Propeller-testing device



W. S. BOWEN.

PROPELLER-TESTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10, 1917.

Patented Sept. Z, 1920.

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PROPELL'ER TESHNG DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- m. 1917.

1,351,738. PatentedSept. 7,1920;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. i UNITED f STAT WILLIAM srn'ivonn now'en, or jYonfi, I

rnorELLnn-msrmennvro'ni To all whom it may concern.

useful Improvements in Propeller-Testing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a device for testing propellers adapted forv use in marine propulsion for the purpose of studying the action of the propellers and for observing the results by direct observation.. 7

Another object is to provide .a device I for studying the action of a propeller under p .of .my propeller; testing device,

standard conditions so that the law of comparison may be applied to the results ob tained. The device is adapted to test propellers .under conditions corresponding wlth the conditions present in'the. actual use' of propellers in marine .propulslon. For mstance, I' am able to obtain the efiect of submergence to varying degrees and to observe and tabulate the. various elements entering into the conditions of operation in actual service.

.The apparatus consists of'a'supply line adapted to be connected with a pump of sufficient capacity'to correspond with the static head of submergence, the head pumped-by the propeller, and the. head corresponding to the velocity of the lead. The supply line preferably containsa steam coilanda thermometer and by means-oi the steam coil the supply may be heatedtofianyrequired de- :.gree' .for the purpose xof'Offsettingatmos pheric pressure by means of vapor-tension.

tQThere is a pressure gage for determining.

the pressure of the .fiuid previous to itsentrance to the'pro'pelle'ror a Pltotitube or -:both. These/are for the purpose of'deter-f -mining the velocity of the fluid just prior to its reaching the propeller. Following in line offlow of the fluid there is a-concentrator for concentrating the fluid around the we propeller by reducing the .area and by. "increasing the velocityof the fluid; The con- :centrator is-made of transparent materlal such asglass 'so that the action-o'fzthe propeller. may be" observed from the outside.

Means, such as a-Pitot tube,: is arranged beyond the' propeller for determining the centrifugal the pipe 1,

Specification of iiet'ters iiatent. i Patented 519 20 Application filed September 10, 1917. "Seria1*No. '190,557 uf liquid. in' this tank may be maintained a Inaddition to the above elements, I have provided means for driving the propeller,

for determining the number of revolutions,

and fonmeasuring the thrust and torque of the propeller shaft.

In. the drawing forming. part. of this application, if 5 .Figure 1 is an elevation partlyiin section Fig.2 is a. sectional View taken on the line 2+2ofFig'1,

. Fig, 3 is an elevation of adynamometer,

Fig.4 is a side elevation of an ordinary pump for forcing the fluid into .Fig. 5 is a detail view of a well known .Pitot tube formeasuring the velocity of the Theliquid, whichv may. be fresh. or salt water, is delivered, to the testing device through the supply'pipe 1 from any suitable source such as a'purnp 2-which is designed with suflicient capacity to take carelof the static l head of. submergenee, the head pumped-by thepropeller and the-headcorresponding to thevelocityj of .thelead, the

velocityv at which the propeller. would. ad- :1 'vance if employed on a movingfvessel; In

the courseof travel .of the liquid, beforeit as I I the temperature'of the inflowingiliquid for i the purpose of offsetting the atmospheric pressure, ordinarilypresent wheretheapropelleris submerged .in a. body-of; water by increasing the vapor tension. By varying the temperatureof the water the vaportenfsion maybe controlled and by this means] it, is possible .to makea small-propeller operating under a foot or two head cor-re ;v

spond to the action of a large or fulli 'sized' The thermometer is; in-

- propeller operating-under"a yd of ,subniergence. V I M sorted in the? supply line to determi action of the steam coil on {the fluid. -Therlilo I supplyl-ine "l i s shown connectedbylan e1: 7 bow 5 with a short pipe section fiwhichr in turn, is connected by the 'coupling 7 with the pipe 8 which latter is in-"alinement with the propeller shaft. The pressure gage 91 is qxfor determining the velocity" of the fluid just previous to its entrance intothe cone- =cen'tr'ator' 'and in addition I haveshown a Pitot tube 10 which ,maybe used for deter-.-

mining the velocity of the fluid before its .entranceinto the concentrator: ThePitot V tube comprises a. tube 4E5 proj ecting into the I pipe 8xwhereit has an inlet orifice 46 direct- ;xe d to thedeft. The-upper end of the tube nected by" whose-47, with 'one'leg of the ma-' 45-pr0jects from the pipe 8 and it is con- --Ii0met6148:.-:" n 1 I 1 Following .the above mentioned 1 elements i-t-l'leleiiSiLJPlP/SGCMOD '11 havingan opening-il2n= through. which observation may be gmade'; and f the; concentrator 13..which, as above stated, :ismade of transparent material such as glass, isinsertedin'the pipe .section 11 .an d'opposite the observation opening.

x. The form :of concentrator herein shown 5 byway of example, has its interior shaped sto correspondwith' aVenturi tube: Thefor- V ward end 14 is of gradually decreasing difromthispointito the rearxend 16, the bore ameterl toithe; point 15 0f least area and of the. concentrator is of gradually increasing diameter. The propeller 17 is arranged :onithe shaft 18and it is'so mounted that the .iforiwardend of the propeller is nearbr within the point 15 ofsmallest area of the concentrator. \Within: the concentrator 1, I :prefer to arrange a member '19 which has a :bearin-g 'QO for the propeller shaft 18' and which also: has rectifying: vanes 21 which I 'zaarelfiadaptedito rectifyi -the:-direction ofnthe 'llstreamiof liquid acted: upon the pro- --'peller ,-L and these fixedjvanes are: similar: in etheiractionito-the fixed vanes of the 'Thornycroft'turbine propellen Following the proi'peller andifixed vanes the tube 11,:there j is shown a Pitottube '22 for determining the r :velocityghead-in the fluid behind the' p'ro- 'i'peller; ,ThetubeorQpipe 11is adaptedto tjwith; an ordinary depth gage 24:. The tank empty-into the tank .23 which isi provided provided with an-outfiow at: 25,- a'ndthe waive-26 is adapted to regulate the outflow ---in-rorder that the liquid in the tank 23 may be;kept"at" any desired depth to provide a .;staec "head to; correspond with submergence 5 of a propeller in "actual marine operation; Th i pipe- 25 may: discha-rge into-a sump (not shown); from-which the liquid may .be

pumped to the" supplyline to "be used over we Y a The; haft 1 8 has 'a for-wardbearingfat127 and-it' proj ects beyond-the forward endof I i V the' pipe ZL-L; and 'coupling 7 There--;is a

sleeve 2 8 ion th'e' shaft 18 and to this is at elaimgisz g: V I 1 7 -1. propeller testing device comprising means forming a liquid passage and havin'gi ar 'transparent. portion through which-the tached'one end the cord 2 9.. wh ich operates; the indicator 30 to indicate the end thrust of thepropeller shaft The indicator is not shownin greaterdetail as instruments of this character are well known. The position of 'thhand 31 on the dial 32 at all times will indicate the end thrust of he propeller'shaft, so that this factor -willalways be available for-comparative tests. V

The power applied to the shaft is to be calculated by operating the'iishaftnwith ,a;

variable speed motor of known efficiency, or preferably, by using a dynamometerr In thedrawings .I have shown-a Duranddynamometer interposed between the motor, and propeller shaft, the construction and T1190 Sprockets 39 and-4O are ar-' ranged on: the outer-ends of the balanced --lever 34; An endl'ess-chain'tlengages over the sprocket .38,*the"sprocket'39 then over the sprocket3'7' andthen .overthesprocket -40; The operating power is applied-'tothe propeller shaft through'the chain and the 'rvarious-zsprockets. The torque of the propeller shaft isdetermined by-reading the displacement of'the balanced leverBt in opposition to the spring 42.. 1.

1 From theabove itwill be apparent that have provided various elements for operating propellers under the same conditions as if they :were iactually submerged as when I used 'in imarine propulsion,; and :for deter- ;mining every factor entering into their op-v :eration'so that the efficiency-pf anywgiven propeller: may be: determined andv so that comparisons may emade between-different forms of propellers ,7 .Having' described my v propeller may 1 be I observed, -a propeller j *adaptedto revolve within said passage adi jacent the transparent portionro-fsaidliquid -passage tovpropel the liquid through said Lpassage; power means for operatingtheipro-r peller from without said liquid passage,- and *a' rectifying-vane arranged behind the-propeller and within said transparent liquid passage and-adapted to .rectify the current:

- of liquid propelled by sai'dpr0peller.'-

2'. A propeller testing device comprising transparent means forming a liquidIpassage zhavi-ng a transparent, portion and having a.

tapering bore forming a concentrator; and a 1 3 0 propeller adapted to be revolved Within said transparent means and to propel liquid therethrough.

3.'A propeller testing device comprising means forming a liquid passage, a propeller adapted to be revolved in said means, and means for supplying liquid to said first means under a definite head and means for measuring the velocity of the liquid in advance of and behind said propeller.

4:. A propeller testing device comprising means forming a liquid passage, a propeller arranged in said passage and adapted to propel liquid therethrough, a receptacle for receiving the liquid from said first means and adapted to maintain a constant static head in said liquid passage and means for heating the liquid in advance of said propeller to offset atmospheric pressure.

5. A propeller testing device comprising means forming a liquid passage, means for supplying liquid to said passage under a definite head, a propeller arranged in said passage and adapted to propel liquid therethrough and a receptacle independent of said source of supply for receiving the liquid from said liquid passage and adapted to maintain a constant static head in said liquid passage.

6. A propeller testing device comprising means forming a liquid passage, a propeller arranged in said passage and adapted to propel liquid therethrough, a receptacle for receiving the liquid from said first means and means for regulating the depth of liquid in said receptacle to vary the static head in said liquid passage to correspond with varying degrees of propeller submergence.

7. A propeller testing device comprising means forming a liquid passage, a propeller arranged in said passage and adapted to propel liquid therethrough, a receptacle for receiving the liquid from said first means and adapted to maintain a constant static head in said passage, and means for supplying liquid to said first means under a constant head.

8. A propeller testing device comprising transparent meansforming a liquid passage, a propeller arranged in said transparent means and adapted to propel liquid therethrough, and a receptacle for receiving the liquid from said first means and adapted to maintain a constant static head in said liquid passage and means independent of said receptacle for supplying liquid to said first means under a constant head.

9. A propeller testing device comprising means forming a liquid passage, a shaft, a propeller thereon arranged in said passage and adapted to propel liquid therethrough, a receptacle for receiving the liquid from said first means, means for varying the depth of liquid in said receptacle to modify the static head in said passage, means for measuring the velocity of the liquid in said passage, means for measuring the end thrust of said shaft and means for measuring the torque thereof.

Signed, this 25th day of August, 1917.

WM. SPENCER BOWEN. 

